1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new process for improving the color stability to heat of aliphatic and/or cycloaliphatic diisocyanates and to the use of the products of this process for the production of modified polyisocyanates, in particular of biuret group-containing polyisocyanates, having reduced inherent color.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Organic polyisocyanates, in particular those having aliphatically- and/or cycloaliphatically-bound isocyanate groups have a wide range of applications in the production of light-stable polyurethane plastics and lacquer coatings having maximum fastness to light, high chalk resistance and excellent gloss.
Modification products of simple aliphatic or cycloaliphatic diisocyanates having reduced vapor pressure are generally used in practice for such applications. These modification products are polyisocyanates containing, for example, allophanate, uretdione, urea, semicarbazide, urethane and, in particular, biuret or isocyanurate structural units and having a reduced vapor pressure. During industrial production of these modification products from the corresponding simple diisocyanates, the inadequate color stability of the reaction mixtures to heat often leads to discolored, usually yellowish to yellow, polyisocyanates.
This yellow coloration frequently has an adverse effect on uniform coloration, in particular when used in the lacquer industry, particularly with pigmented metal effect lacquers.
It has now surprisingly been found that it is possible to overcome these disadvantages by pre-treating the simple diisocyanates used for producing the lacquer polyisocyanates with compounds containing ##STR2## groups. U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,245 describes a process in which modified polyisocyanates, in particular biuret group-containing polyisocyanates, are heated with monomeric diisocyanates and the monomeric diisocyanates are then removed by distillation, but the process in this prior publication cannot be linked with the process according to the present invention, which is described in more detail below, as the process of the U.S. patent relates merely to the conversion of higher functional components in the modified isocyanates to modified polyisocyanates of reduced functionality by heat treatment with monomeric diisocyanates. There is no information about the quality of the monomeric diisocyanate then distilled from modified polyisocyanate in the prior publication. In accordance with the basically different object, quite different proportions of reactants are used in the process according to the prior publication than in accordance with the present invention.
In the conventional process for producing biuret polyisocyanates (see, for example, U.S. Pat No. 3,903,127) the already-formed biuret polyisocyanates are heated in the course of the biuretization reaction in the presence of an excess of monomeric diisocyanates and the excess diisocyanate is subsequently distilled off. However, the quantities used in the known processes are governed by the observation already made in connection with U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,245, namely that the prior art is as little concerned with heating a monomeric diisocyanate with only from 0.1 to 3%, by weight, of biuret polyisocyanate as with achieving the object of the present invention, i.e. improving color stability under heat of the monomeric diisocyanate.